A Bear Ate All The Brussels Sprouts

August 16, 2011

A Bear Ate All The Brussels Sprouts is a wonderful interactive book app about a little boy and some tall tales at dinner time. Little Timmy claims several wild animals have eaten all his least favorite foods ... that is until his mom threatens no dessert (because it was eaten by imaginary animals, too). Told in delightful rhyme with attractive original illustrations, this book will please both adults & kids with its light animation, creative interactivity and whimsical story.

The interactive elements were a hit with my little boy, but also reinforced the storyline. The bear (that ate the brussels sprouts) sits in a thought bubble and gobbles up sprouts if you flick them off Timmy's plate. On another page an iguana swings from a trapeze and if you tap him at just the right time, his long tongue unrolls to grab a few peas. These pages are not only fun ways to visualize the story, but also cool mini-games to play within the book.

An important note: Parents & educators might be concerned about the story making light of lying, since there are no real consequences for Timmy making up what happened to his food. However, I think the tone of the story shows a positive interaction between the mom and her son. I also think this is a great story for discussion with kids about the difference between jokingly telling tall tales & real lying. The foods offered up by mom are also somewhat in jest, too, since not many kids eat radishes, liver or brussels sprouts.

The book is also solidly made with easy page turn arrows, although page load is a bit slow. There also isn't a page guide or highlighting with the narration, both of which would be nice additions to this otherwise great title. There are red circles that appear briefly to guide children to the interactive elements, which is a nice touch since a couple pages have nothing to tap. [Note: You do need to wait to tap interactive elements or they will interfere with the narration.]

Overall, this is a great little iPad book with funny scenes that will appeal to young readers. My child loved getting to 'wipe' the snot from the screen after the cheetah 'sneezes' (and tapping on the rhino for one more fart). While adults will find the book amusing, the target audience will find it laugh-out-loud hilarious. A Bear Ate All The Brussels Sprouts is a top-notch title with a little something to love for readers of any age.

All reviews are of the app, not the platform/device. Based originally on iPad versions. Minor technical details may vary.

Story Synopsis - A Bear Ate All The Brussels Sprouts

Timmy is a boy who hates Brussels Sprouts. He throws them on the floor while his mom keeps bring him platefuls. When she asks what happened to all his food, he makes up stories. Timmy says a bear ate all the sprouts and a Penguin ate his 'parsnip bake'. Then a lizard is blamed for eating leeks and peas (while swinging from a high trapeze). A farting Rhino is blamed as well, for eating a 'radish tart'. Timmy even tells his mom a cheetah ate his cottage cheese and that a leopard ate his liver pie.

Timmy's mom does not buy his stories, saying he must be lying. But Timmy insists that it's all true, even adding one more story. Instead of getting more angry, mom smiles and calmly replies that it's such a shame little Timmy won't be getting dessert since "iguanas ate the ice cream." She adds that "badgers ate banoffee" and "bunnies gobbled butterscotch", playing right along with Timmy's game.